How to Install Slab Foundations
This is post 3 of 3 in our series “Rising Barn Foundations”, where the different types of foundations are explained for installation. Click here for part 2.
Pouring slab foundations are not DIY friendly, therefore Rising Barn only offer this through turn-key services. If you are still interested about slab foundations, we have provided more information below.
Also known as slab-on-grade, slab foundations are the industry standard for foundations. Your contractors will begin by digging a hole the size of your floor plan deep into the ground, usually around the same depth you would dig your piers (past the frost line).
Once the hole is dug and the bottom of the hole is relatively even and well compacted, wooden forms are then built up using plywood and 2x4s. It’s important that these forms be pressure treated, so that pouring the concrete doesn’t make them flex and warp. At this point, the typical practice is to set up plumbing and electricity in the space, so it will later be embedded. Larger homes usually place rebar or steel rods into the forms to strengthen the final slab and prevent it from cracking, however with a cabin you may be able to use concrete with a high PSI rating.
Finally, your contractor will pour the mixed concrete, making sure to consolidate it as you go, until it is just about overflowing from the form.
Using a trowel or a hand float, the top of the concrete is made smooth, even, and level as possible before leaving it to cure.
Once the poured concrete has fully cured, the subfloor is usually built directly on the slab. Attaching wooden structures to concrete are fairly simple, but they differ from other systems and from different materials.
In the construction world, concrete slabs stay in one place as the earth shifts around it. They almost act like a boat in the ocean. They work well on flat surfaces and can also be built on most sloping surfaces. They act as insulation, don’t rot, and never have problems with insects or vermin. Building a slab is not a task we recommend for doers; if you choose not to opt for our turn-key services, then it is up to you to hire a crew and manage the installation yourself. If this sounds intimidating, don’t worry-your project manager is on hand to assist you if needed with any kind of foundation, and we will coordinate with your crew to make sure that our connections will fit with their foundation requirements.
